By COLlive reporter
Rabbi Shais Taub, a scholar, author and blogger of Jewish mysticism, has concluded a lecture tour in Chabad House in the state of Arizona this past week, spreading and insight inspiration.
The Arizona tour began with a Shabbaton hosted by Chabad of Scottsdale, directed by Rabbi Yossi and Dina Levertov.
Friday night, Taub delivered a new talk entitled “You Ruined My Life!” in which he used humor and insight to explain how to get over the grudges and resentments that are holding us back.
The next morning on Shabbos day, Taub spoke again at Chabad of Scottsdale and told stories of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi in honor of the yahrtzeit on Teves 24. Taub is the author of the “Map of Tanya.”
Throughout Shabbos, Rabbi Taub was available in between lectures to meet with members of the community and to provide counseling and advice as he has done with his acclaimed book “G-d of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction.”
Fellowship Comes
After spending Shabbos members of the Scottsdale community, Rabbi Taub spoke to a crowd of another sort.
Attracted by the promise of hearing Taub’s now known lecture “Emotional Sobriety: Spiritual Tools for Overcoming Dysfunction,” a crowd of over 70 people have gathered on Motzoei Shabbos.
Some in the crowd were people involved with a Jewish recovery fellowship run by Rabbi Mendy Lipsker, Director of Chabad Lubavitch of Fountain Hills, AZ.
Originally a talk delivered in Detroit, Michigan to kick off the publication of his book last winter, Taub’s Emotional Sobriety talk has become legendary for wowing Chabad Houses all over the United States.
Lecture at a Resort
On Sunday, Rabbi Taub headed to Southern Arizona where he was hosted by Chabad of Tucson, directed by Rabbi Yossie and Chanie Shemtov.
A crowd of men and women – many of them doctors and physicians in the medical field – came to hear his lecture at the Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, Tucson’s historic Southwestern showcase.
He was introduced by Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin, Director of Development of Chabad of Tucson.
Entitled “Taking Control of Your Life,” the audience was visibly moved by Taub’s message of using faith to find the courage to face adversity in life.
There were moments where the audience was swept away in laughter and moments where people actually shed tears.
One attendee visiting from San Diego, CA remarked, “This was the greatest lecture I have ever heard in my life.” Present at the event were some of the most influential members of the Tucson Jewish community.
“(It was an) interesting topic,” Dr. Jeffrey H. DuBois wrote on Facebook after the lecture. “Rabbi Taub was a good speaker with an excellent message.”
I saw him. He’s great.
I heard Rabbi Taub’s talk on Emotional Sobriety which you can listen to here on COLLIVE.
He never mentions even once anything about yes l’chaim or no l’chaim.
https://staging.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=12404
Our yeshivas need to hear about alcoholicism, that it is a disease which destroys lives, and that encouraging bochurim to say that “L’chaim” may trigger a life long disease in that bochur. I ask menahelim, mashpiim and rosh yeshivas, “On a cost-benefit analysis, is it worth it?” Telling a bochur to drink that L’chaim is worse than telling him to smoke weed.